I kind of went bizurk the past few days taking pictures for the blog. I will put these pictures in their proper place as I figure out which kilns made what. Just bear with me! There are missing pieces to some of the sets, and when Suzanne and I were unpacking, we found several pieces broken. There are still boxes that have not been unpacked, so hopefully some of the missing pieces will be found. Some of the pictures are a little blurry, so I will have to re-take replace them later.
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This set has no mark on the bottom...
I wanted you to see this design on the bottom of the creamer. It doesn't actually go with the set in the previous picture, but it is close...
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13-piece Nippon Tea Set
Nippon mark on the tea set.
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This is now 16-piece set of Dragonware. Some of the cups are missing as well as the big tea pot.
16-piece Dragonware set. I think the big tea pot and one cup is missing.
I have not been able to figure out what was used to make the inside of these cups this brown color or what it is called. If anyone reading this knows, PLEASE tell me!
The cream pitcher and sugar bowls seem pretty big compared to the other types of tea sets (made in France, England, etc.) . I may have to replace this picture...It is kind of blurry.
Picture showing the great detail
Mark on the 16-piece Dragonware set.
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20 Piece Kutani Set-Made in Occupied Japan. At least 1 cup and the sugar bowl is missing... Anyone have an extra?
20-Piece Kutani Set, made in Occupied Japan
This set has some very good detail!
One of the plates in this set.
Decorations inside the plate have great detail!
Mark showing 'Made in Occupied Japan'.
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21-Piece Dragonware set with no mark on bottom. This could be an older set since there is no mark… Well, who knows! Many older pieces are not as brightly colored, which could be an indication of an older set, but not all kilns used bright colors. This set is very highly detailed with LOTS of gold as well… This set one one of my brothers as well as most of items in her collection.
21-piece Dragonware Set with no mark. Lid is missing on the sugar bowl. I found the other cup AFTER I took this picture!
Closeup showing detail on the sugar bowl.
Plate in this 20-piece set.
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This is a nice 21-piece gray Dragonware set. Now, all the pieces are alike, but some of the wares say ‘Made in Japan’ and some also say ‘Endo China’ and have a flower on the mark.
Gray Dragonware Set, 21-pieces. There could be more than one set here...Note the smaller cup and saucer.
Creamer showing the detail and moriage (slip-ware) going from the body up onto the lid.
The plates even have thick paint...
This set also has these plates with the brownish porcelain inside the cups.
This is a different mark than I have seen before... Endo China...
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There are all sizes, shapes, and colors of FOO DOGS available in Kutani Porcelain.
One pair of Foo Dogs.
Another pair of Foo Dogs. I had a problem taking their pictures...They kept moving around!
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Allot of the Kutani in Suzanne’s collection were bought from my brother when I was listing them for him on Ebay. That’s how Suzanne and I met in the first place! All these smaller vases were his. It so weird dealing with the same pieces twice!
15 Kutani vases, tallest is 2.5 inches 1-30-2010.
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This is an interesting vase with all the crackle glaze. It used to be my brothers.
Misc. Kutani vases.
Pair of salt and pepper shakers. Used to be my brothers, too.
This pair of vases are like twins. They seem to be looking at each other. Yes, they were also my brothers.
Kind of blurry, I need to replace this picture! It seems like sometims you can take 10 pictures of an object and they are still blurry! One of my brothers.
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There are three plates like this one. One is much larger.
A few more plates!
This is more like a bowl. The slots in the right and left side may be for a handle. One of my brothers bowls had a handle, but I don't think this is the one. I do believe this bowl was by brothers, though.
Very nice plate with three figures!
Beautiful plate with LOTS of detail!
Close-up of the very detailed decoration in the center of the plate in the previous picture.
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Nice tea pot!
Another blurry picture!
Top view of the tea pot.
Mark on the bottom of the tea pot.
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6-Piece Sake Set. My brother also had a very nice blue set, with dragons, which Suzanne did not purchase.
Sake Set.
Lithopane in the bottom of the cup. Most of them have a different face.
Mark on the bottom.
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10-piece set with roosters.
10-Piece set with roosters. The roosters in the cups and four plates in this picture are not speckled. The roosters on the tea pot are speckled as well as five other plates. There are no marks on the bottoms.
Close-up of the design on the tea pot.
One of the plates from the first picture. The roosters are not speckled.
5 plates with speckled roosters.
Notice the roosters are speckled... The ones in the other set are not.
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I think you did a very good job with the pictures. It is hard when you are trying to get them done.
I am enjoying your website. My grandfather was in China around 1900 and brought back some very nice pieces of Satsuma and Eggshell china.
We have been clearing out my mother’s house, where there are many antiques from the world-travels of her aunt. There is an unusual oriental porcelain set of a pot, creamer, and sugar bowl. The maker’s mark seems to indicate that it is Kutani, based on the symbol-research that I have done. I would love to send you a picture, in case you know where else I could look to figure out its history. Is that possible?
-Lucy S.
Lucy,
I would live to see a picture! Send the pictures to mysticalmansion@yahoo.com. Thanks for visiting The Mystical Mansion and Garden Blog.
I would like to ask a question. I have many of these sets that I inherited from my grandmother and mother. Could you tell me if these sets are worth anything.
M. Jackson,
Your guess is as good as mine as to how much some of this Kutani is really worth. Some really nice sets go for well over $100-$200 depending on age and the quality of the porcelain and the design. Some of the older pieces make you drool and can command really good prices. Some of the companies porcelain is paper thin and poorly done, and aren’t even worth selling or keeping. You know what they say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and such is the value.
hi i wonder if you could help me i have a 6 piece coffee set which has the geisha girl in the cups and has the markings kutani above a mountain and handpainted japan below it , the scene is of a waterwheel and bridge ,shack and trees all in minimal colour and a slightly grey glaze would this set be from after the second world war and is it worth anything also i have a dinner service unfourtunatly not complete but has a scene which looks like mount fuji and a boat and shacks this is in a peach colour glaze and also has the geisha girl in the cups, and has the word unity in gold with a gold circle on the the bottom ,and what i have is in excellent condition but i would like to know more about both sets and their values please.
Soooooooooooo beautiful! thanx for sharing
I think I have a cup and saucer that is dragonware but I’ve not been able to find any others like it. I will send you my link to the pictures I posted.
Thanks,
D. Samuels
http://wilmington.craigslist.org/clt/2492669379.html
Delores,
Thanks for sending the link to the pictures. It looks like they are dragonware. No doubt the rest of the set contains a pitchers, a creamer, a sugar bowl, and several other cups and saucers. Judging by the mark, and I am no expert, the mark on the bottom would indicate they were made before the occupation of Japan. Check on eBay to see if you can find similar items. Keep us posted! Thanks for visiting The Mystical Mansion and Garden Blog.
I have a number of cups, saucers and side plates including teapot, creamer and sugar pot (wth lid) which I believe to have been brought back to the uk following the second world war. They are very matt black finish, feel incredibly fragile, on a white eggshell porcelain. They have a design on them which appear japanese which is painted in gold. I have no idea what they are. Can you help? They have been taking pride of place for some time but I do not know if it is now time for a change and would like to know if there is possibly any value attached or if I should just bin them all.
Helen,
If you want to send pictures, I would like to see them. Go to the contact page and send to that email address. You can go to eBay and look at their listings to see if there are any similar to yours. Check the completed listings as well. But, do send pictures! Thanks for visiting the Mystical Mansion and Garden.
Beautiful collection! I don’t know if you can help me, I bought a sake set like yours, but like your brothers, with dragons. However there is nothing written, no mark on the bottom, is it probably fake? Do they even make fakes?
Emily,
Not all Japanese Kutani had marks on the bottom. It doesn’t mean they are fake. Do the cups have lithopane on the bottom?
Hello Mr Miller, I have been reading much of your blog today and I have enjoyed it so much, the pics are great!!! WOW, Dr. Suzanne has a lot of stuff!!!!! And magnificent ‘stuff’ at that! Thank God she had you to spend the rest of her last days, she was very fortunate!
I do have a question, my Grandma left the same exact set as you have pictured above, the ’20-Piece Kutani Set, made in Occupied Japan’. It is the same exact one. I cannot believe we have the same sets. I could not find information ANY WHERE for it, except here! You have helped me realize who the manufacturer was, for which I am so thankful. I found out that the ‘occupied Japan’ pieces were manufactured between 1945 and 1952, for only these seven years. And we’re not supposed to wrap the bisque or porcelain in print newspaper, uh oh, I have had it newsprint for years!!! Were you at all able to find out the value of this magnificent set? From what I read a single saucer and cup are valued at $50 -$70. I found this information here,
http://www.ehow.com/facts_6011909_value-cups-made-occupied-japan.html
It was wonderful coming across your blog, Mr. Miller, hope that you will be updating soon and hope that all is well with you!
Sincerely, Jacqueline Coviello
Jacqueline,
Thanks for your comment! Interesting we have the same set! Thanks for the information and the link to the website. Hopefully it will help many others! Thanks for visiting the Mystical Mansion and Garden Blog.
Hello – I have a plate that matches exactly the teapot you have listed just above. Same pattern (Navy blue border with some greens) and same marking on the back. You titled it simply: Nice Teapot.
Do you know brand name for this item/manufacturer? Wanted to find out before I resell it. Thank you!
Kelly,
Like the information on the blog states, there were many decorating houses and kilns. Many of the pieces simply say Made in Japan. I have seen nearly identical pieces with different marks on the bottom. This is because many kilns made the same pieces for many different decorating houses and the same artists painted at many of them… SO, you get the same pieces with many different names on the bottom, if they don’t just say made in Japan. Some kilns make and decorate their products, and in the old days, I think the artists name was also on the items. Just look on eBay and see what is similar to yours and list it at a similar price. Suggestion: Weigh the item in a packed box, calculate the highest shipping charges, add it to the price, and offer free shipping! Free shipping really gets attention.
I think my vase about 20cm Tall is a Geez,this is marked on the underneath in red,also it has a red square with symbols inside the red square.my vase has crackling glaze,and decorated with a oriental lady looking over her shoulder at either children playing or servants.in front of the lady is a small person faceing her with a tray of what looks like fruit.It has a small table with a beautiful flowery plnt in a pot spreading around the vase,My vase shows a butterfly in front of the lady’s face,it is very unique,. I used to have two of these but was not the same,but my dog broke this.I was given the vases about 20yrs ago,when i worked in a very old pub,they were found in the attic and was going to be skipped,my boss at the time said i could have them with pleasure as they were very dirty,i took them home and was surprised how beatiful they were. such a shame the other unidentical one was destoyed. How do i really know wether this vase is real? Any Advice please, Donna of Cleckheaton,bradford,west yorkshire,England.
Donna,
No doubt your vase is real. I would like to see pictures, as always. Such fun when we find old stuff in the attic covered with dust! Thanks for visiting The Mystical Mansion and Garden.
Hi, I have a set, Creamy white with a gold trim, the images show a river with several adjoining islands, several trees two Chinese buildings and a boat, there are also clouds in the distance and what appears to be a volcano… Inside the teacup the face after some research I figure to be the The Wide Eyed Geisha and the red symbols I have translated to say Kutani nothing more… Do these sound to you like fakes and do you know there value…
I also have several more pieces not alike the Kutani with the image of a Geisha walking away from what appears to be a priest, this image is sectioned off in a square and there are several other sectioned off images and lots of floral designs, this piece appears to be a lidded teacup but resembles an apple as it has a gold apple like stalk for the lid handle and the teacup handle has golden leaves at the bottom, the stamp on the bottom is inside of a red circle but I have been unable to make the characters out…
I also have several other pieces of China please let me know if you think there is anything in my findings.
Regards
Fiona
I am searching for additional information about a set of Kutani “Kosen” Foo Dog Salt & Pepper shakers. They are white, each sit on a purple base, which has a painted vine of flowers around the border, and include gold gilting. I have been able to find the actual mark, but would like to know when these were manufactured. Can anyone help me?